Indigenous North American Flutes

When I first began to look at classifying flutes that originated in North America, I quickly got the sense of dealving into a rabbit-hole topic. Rather than trying to craft flutes to a generally accepted, ideal model, makers of ethnic flutes seeks to define their own style and take the instrument in their own direction. And so, the types of flutes described on this page are mostly general classes into which a particular flute can be placed.

While this page lists flutes that I believe originated in North America, little is really known at how those designs were influenced by outside cultures. The topic of outside influences and originality in the context of indigenous flute design is often debated - another rabbit-hole topic.

This page mostly looks at flutes in the present-day context, and from the perspective of flute makers and players. For a historical perspective on these instruments, see The Development of Flutes in North America.

One fascinating area that is outside the scope of Flutopedia deals with the possibility that an instrument can be a window of understanding the culture that developed or uses the instrument. The concept that the instrument or its primary scale can affect the culture in the same way that the language developed by a culture in turn affects the continued development of that culture.

Overview

This roster of Indigenous North American flutes is broken into two main categories:

North American Rim-blown Flutes. Flutes with a single tube, completely open from one end to the other where player forms an embouchure and blows against the rim of one end of the tube. The tube is typically formed either by boring a hole in a solid material, by removing soft matter such as the pith inside a branch or the nodes inside a stalk of cane or bamboo, or by commercial fabriacation methods (such a commercially available PVC tubing).

North American Duct Flutes. Flutes where a narrow duct directs the stream of air to the splitting edge at the sound hole. The player may blow directly into the duct, or may blow into a chamber that is then designed to feed air into the duct.

North American Rim-blown Flutes

The Anasazi Flute

Present-day Anasazi Flutes were inspired from the Broken Flute Cave flutes excavated by a team led by Earl Morris in the summer and fall of 1931. Measurements that I took of the original artifacts were published online in late 2002. Shortly afterward, makers began producing replicas and variations based on these artifacts.

Dr. Richard Payne, Coyote Oldman (Michael Graham Allen), and Ken Light were early experimenters with contemporary rim-blown flute designs, and Coyote Oldman (Michael Graham Allen) was the first maker to make these instruments available to a wider audiences of flute players.

One thing to note is the alignment of the finger holes. The top flute has finger holes in a stright line, while the other makers rotate finger holes 3 and 6 for easier reach by the player. Also notice that the third flute from the top has the finger holes rotated for a left-handed player (who uses the right hand for the top holes).

These two tracks appear on the first commercial recordings using Michael's newly created Anasazi Flute replicas. The first track uses a flute made with measurements very close to the flutes excavated at the Broken Flute Cave. The second track is a more experimental design with is much longer and can be played much more as an overtone flute.

The typical primary scale for Anasazi flutes is very different from the primary scale on Native American flutes. It is also very unusual in that there is no interval of a perfect fourth from the root note. The notes shown are typical for present-day Anasazi style flutes of about 29"-30" (74-76 cm) in length:

Primary Scale for Anasazi Flutes

Fingering

AlternateFingering

Note

Interval

Ab4

octave

G4

major 7th

F4

major 6th

Eb4

5th

C4

major 3rd

B3

minor 3rd

Bb3

major 2nd

Ab3

root

The fingerings for the Anasazi flute on this page are a combination of fingerings shown in ([Purtill 2008]) and my own experimentation on the instrument. The alternate fingerings of and might provide a better tuning on the top two notes (a suggestion of Michael Graham Allen). Here is an extended scale that includes some cross-fingered notes and some of the upper register notes. These fingerings work on many, but not all, of the Anasazi flute:

The Hopi Flute

Once the world of rim-blown flutes was re-opened with the Anasazi flutes, makers began creating variations. Some are patterend after traditional instruments and designs, and some are entirely recent inventions.

Because these instruments are a bit shorter — about 25" (63.5 cm) in length - they are tuned higher than the Anasazi Flute. However they have a similar primary scale:

Primary Scale for Hopi Flutes

Fingering

Alternate
Fingering

Note

Interval

B4

octave

Bb4

major 7th

G#4

major 6th

F#4

5th

Eb4

major 3rd

C#4

major 2nd

B3

root

The Mojave Flute

This rim-blown flute is a present-day flute inspired by traditional flutes of the Mojave [moh-hah-vee]
(also spelled “Mohave”, known as “Aha macave”, literally “People alongside water”,
also pronounced
[moh-hahv]).
See The Development of Flutes in North America for a description of the artifacts on which the Mojave Flute is based.

Michael Graham Allen began making the present-day Mojave flutes in 2007. Here are some instruments currently being offered by several makers:

A Native American flute in F# minor will produce the same pitches as shown for the primary scale of the Mojave Flute, but most contemporary Native American flutes in any key will give a scale with the same relative notes.

The Mojave Six Flute

A recent variation on the Mojave fute concept came from the limited scale of the classic Mojave Flute. The highest note in the low register of the Mojave Flute a perfect fifth interval from the root note, and then there was a huge leap to the octave note in the second register.

Getting more notes on a flute typically means making more finger holes, and Geoffrey Ellis of Earth Tone Flutes developed the “Mojave Six” design in 2009:

Two versions of the Mohave Six Flute by Geoffrey Ellis of Earthtone Flutes

The equivalent notes to the Mohave Six Flute
can be played on most contemporary Native American flutes, but they require half-holing on the bottom hole, and the fingerings vary from maker to maker. Here are two sets of fingerings you might try: and : .

A Native American flute in B minor will produce the same pitches as shown for the primary scale of the Mojave Six Flute, but most contemporary Native American flutes in any key will give a scale with the same relative notes.

The Yuma Flute

The Yuma flute provides us with some mysteries - We have very few authentic examples of historical instruments, probably due to the past Yuma (Quechan, Yuman, Kwtsan, Kwtsaan) tradition of burning all possessions of the deceased during the funeral ceremony ([Halpern 1997]).

Michael Graham Allen calls this instrument an “Ancient Southern California flute replica”, but to my eyes it looks like the inspiration was drawn from the historical Yuma flutes:

The listing for the Coyote Oldman flute says that it is 19" (48.3 cm) in length and can be played from either end.

The Maidu Flute

This description of a Maidu rim-blown flute is provided by Roland Burrage Dixon, from the Huntington California Expeditions of 1899-1904. It was published in [Dixon 1905], page 221, together with Figure 57, shown below. The figure has been rotated counter-clockwise from the original publication, so that figure 57(a) is the lower flute and figure 57(b) is the upper pair of tied whistles:

The flute (Fig. 57, a) is a simple elder-wood tube, about forty centimetres in length. It has four holes; and in playing, the end of the flute is placed in the mouth, and blown partly across and partly into. There were many songs played on these flutes; but all were,
so far as is known, love-songs, or songs played purely for the amusement of the player, and the flute was not in use ceremonially at all.

The whistle (Fig. 57, b) was usually made of bird-bones, eagle or goose being preferred. It was generally double, two being tied together, one longer than the other. The ends were closed with pitch. The whistle, as contrasted with the flute, was a ceremonial instrument, and was used by the doctor or shaman, and by dancers on certain occasions.

North American Duct Flutes

This category of flutes includes any design where a duct directs the stream of air to the splitting edge at the sound hole. No embouchure is needed to play these flutes - you just breathe into the end of the instrument.

The order that I am showing for these flutes begins with the simplest form of duct flute - one where the player breathes directly into the duct - and ends with the Native American flute - where the player's breath enters a second chamber that in turn delives the air to the duct. However, I'm not implying anything about the development of the Native American flute by this ordering of flute styles. It might be that the simpler designs inspired the later Native American flute design, but that is only a conjecture.

The upper flute by Pat Partidge is in my collection, and actually has an addition thumb hole on the back of the instrument. The lower flute by Michael Graham Allen is listed by him as “Ancient Arizona flute”. The length is listed as 29.7″ (75.4 cm), although more than half of that length is taken by the slow air chamber.

As with the Papago flute artifacts, the player uses a finger (typically their index finger) to form a flute by partially cover the SAC exit hole and the sound hole. It take a bit of practice, but works nicely after a few minutes. The Pat Partridge Papago flute has ridges on three sides of the nest area to make this easier.

This table shows the scale of the circa 1880 Papago flute from [Payne 1989], page 21 (the flute that Michael Graham Allen used as the model for his version of this flute) as well as the notes produced by the Pat Partridge flute in my collection:

Scales for Papago Flutes

Circa 1880 Papago Flute

Pat PartridgePapago Style Flute

Fingering

Note

Interval

Fingering

Note

Interval

F5

octave

G5

octave

D#5

minor 6th

D5

5th

B4

diminished 5th

C#5

diminished 5th

A#4

4th

C5

4th

G#4

minor 3rd

A#4

minor 3rd

F4

root

G4

root

The Papago Flute is a wonderful instrument for flute instructors who are teaching beginning players:

It demonstrates the construction of a two-chambered flute without having to remove the block.

It allows the player to experiment with trying to use their finger as a block and get a sound from the flute — really demonstrating the function of the block on a Native American flute.

It lets the player deal with only three holes, and small ones at that … much more straightforward than trying to get six larger holes covered.

The Pima Flute

The Pima or Maricopa flute is of cane
cut of such a length that it includes two entire sections and about
4 cm. (1.6″) of each of the two adjoining. It therefore contains three
diaphragms, of which the two end ones are perforated, while the
middle one is so arranged that the air may pass over its edge from
one section into the other. This is done by burning a hole through
the shell of the cane on each side of the diaphragm and joining them
by a furrow. With such an opening in the upper section the instrument
can not be played unless a piece of bark or similar material be
wrapped over all but the lower portion of the furrow to direct the air
into the lower section. The forefinger of the left hand is usually
employed as a stop if no permanent wrapping directs the current of
air so that it may impinge upon the sharp margin of the opening into
the second section. As there are but three finger holes the range
of notes is not great and they are very low and plaintive.

These instruments are usually ornamented with geometric designs
having no symbolic significance at the present time among the Pimas.
A bit of cloth or ribbon is sometimes attached to the middle of the flute,
as in specimen c, figure 80.

Russell notes that the bottom-most flute “has an old pale yellow necktie tied around the middle as an ornament
and to direct the air past the diaphragm.” He also lists the measurements of these flutes in a footnote of page 167:

Measurement of Pima Flutes

Flute

Length

Diameter

Flute a (uppermost flute)

364 mm (14.33″)

22 mm (0.87″)

Flute b (middle flute)

518 mm (20.39″)

23 mm (0.91″)

Flute c (bottom flute)

512 mm (20.16″)

22 mm (0.87″)

“The principle of its construction is believed to be different from any known among other tribes or nations. These instruments are common with the Coco-Maricopas, and Yumas or Cuchuans, and among the tribes on the Colorado. Young men serenade their female friends with them.” Whipple, Pac. R. R. Rep. II, 52.

1. On the hither side of the Gila, and over the territory which extends to the boundary that
is considered to limit the province of Sonora, are established the Pimas Gileños,
also called Pimas Altos.
The nation consists of twenty-five hundred souls, who live in the towns of San
Juan Capistrano, Sutaquison, Atison, Tubuscabor, and San Seferino de Napgub. They are
social and much united. Their weapons are those common to Indians, and they are generally
at war with the Apaches, and some nation or other of the Colorado. They cover themselves
with cotton and woolen blankets of their own manufacture. They cultivate the earth, and
each proprietor lives near his field. They raise wheat, maize, cotton, and other crops, for
the irrigation of which they have well-constructed canals (acequias). They have farms for
the breeding of horses, sheep, and poultry.

2. The Papagos, a nation of four thousand persons, inhabit the country from the farthest
limit of Sonora, along the sea, nearly to the mouth of the river Colorado. They speak the same
language as the Pimas, and dress after the same manner. They are made up of several hordes;
their customs are alike; and in their friendships, as in their enmities, they ever accord with
their neighbors.

3. The Opa, or Coco-Maricopa Indians, as they are commonly called, live on the further side
of the river Gila, near the river Ascención. Their number is more than three thousand, and
they are divided into several hordes. Their language is that of the Yumas; they are of the
same character as the Pimas, and dress themselves like them. Without the necessity of irrigation,
they gather two crops of grain from their fields in the year. In all other matters they
differ but little from the Papagos and Pimas, with whom they live in great harmony.

The Tarahumara Flute

The style of flutes from the Tarahumara culture is described in [Payne 1989], page 29-30:

The Tarahumara, in the vast Barranca del Cobre east of the Yaqui, play a small beaked tabor pipe made of the cane (Arundinaria) that grows in the valleys of their vast canyon country. These flutes, usually played as tabor pipes accompanied by a large tambour (a manner attributed to Spanish influence), resemble in some respect the clay flutes of the prehistoric Mayan and Aztec civilizations. Similar flutes are currently widespread among the native cultures of Mexico.

Here are some photos and an improvisation on the Tarahumara flute in my collection, from the collection of Dr. Richard W. Payne, recorded January 14, 2012. The improvisation does not use the style suggested in the quotation above by Doc Payne, but is a solo more in the style of nature imitation:

For background on the Tarahumara culture, and in particular the role of music in their society, see [Wheeler-R 1993]. Here is an excerpt:

Music sanctifies the moment in the life of all the Tarahumaras. Our dances permeate our daily lives with joy, courage and trust in Our Creator. Our songs and dances are like prayers of thanks to bless the sick, our fields and our crops. Even the most common tasks have a higher meaning when music is in the air. When Onorúame God -created the world, He did so singing and dancing. The heartbeat of Mother Earth was the drum that accompanied Him. When we rest in the bosom of the earth we feel Her heartbeat and when the Yúmari (the sowing dance) is played we hear the pulse of life drumming to the chanting prayer of the sewer.
All of our actions have musical meaning. …

The Choctaw Overtone Flute

The flute of the Choctaw culture, of which I know a single example: a flute in my collection originally from the collection of Dr. Richard W. Payne. The cultural context of the flute was provided by Dr. Payne (personal communication, November 2002) with additional information from Vern Berry (personal communication, September 25, 2005).

The flute has no finger holes. It measures 17.25″ (43.85 cm) long, with the physical length of the sound chamber from the plug to the foot end of the instrument of 16.50″ (41.91 cm) and the diameter of the cylindrical sound chamber of about 7⁄16″ (0.44 cm). Because this is a relatively long sound chamber in relation to the diameter of the sound chamber, it plays easily into the upper registers. This puts it in a class of flutes known as overtone flutes.

Choctaw Overtone Flute detail

However, a word of caution on my assumptions of how this flute was actually played: It has been pointed out that I may be over-reaching in my conjecture that this flute was played as an melodic overtone flute. Barry Higgins of White Crow Flutes (personal communication, January 13, 2012) cautioned that, regardless of how the flute can be played today (and how a person familiar with other world overtone flutes might play it), little can be said about how it was actually played in the culture. For example, the instrument may have been used simply for signaling, and not played melodically.

Improvisation

Clint Goss.
Overtone flute of the Choctaw culture.

And here are the measured pitched — basically the overtone series:

Choctaw Overtone Flute - Measured Pitches

Register

Foot Open

Foot Closed

First register

G4 -20 cents

D5 +10 cents (weak)

Second register

G5 -20 cents

B5 +10 cents

Third register

D6 -10 cents

F6 -20 cents

Fourth register

G6 -0 cents

A6 +30 cents

Fifth register

B6 -10 cents

C#7 -30 cents

Sixth register

D7 -0 cents

The Native American Flute

And finally, we get to the focus of this web site, the Native American flute. There are many other pages on this site that explore the development, anatomy, and keys available for the Native American flute.

In terms of variations on the instrument, there are far too many to survey or keep track of. One newsgroup on Yahoo dedicated to makers of the instrument had 3,549 members as of September 17, 2010, and many of those makers create their own variation or style of instrument.